


Till Death Do Us Part - The Wedding

by Maisie_top_trash



Series: Unseen - Fear Will Lose [1]
Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Anxiety, Depression, Family, Fluff, M/M, Marriage, Mental Illness, OCD, Panic Attacks, Recovery, Schizoaffective Disorder, Self Harm, Wedding, mental health
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 00:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9211934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maisie_top_trash/pseuds/Maisie_top_trash
Summary: Unseen Fear Will Lose is a series of single chapter stories showing unseen scenes from the same universe as my main story, Fear Will Lose. In order to fully enjoy these extra bits, I recommend you go and read that first.Fear Will LoseIt's the wedding :D (that somehow turned out to be 20000+ words??) Anyway, it takes place 3 years before the Fear Will Lose story, enjoy!





	

"Oh look, there's the guys," Tyler smiled as his family's car pulled past them on the highway. His hands were firmly set on the steering wheel, but Josh raised one and waved. Chris and Kelly were in the front and smiled/waved appropriately, but Maddy and Jay in the back acted like the teenagers that they were and responded with some quite inappropriate hand gestures. Tyler and Josh could both tell that Kelly had told them off without even seeing her do so, and laughed as they settled down again.

"Can't believe you're about to get overtaken by your mom," Josh chuckled as he picked up his coffee from the holder again.  
"It's a marathon not a sprint,"  
"True, but it's also a 9 hour car drive not a running race," the older smiled back, "although at this rate, it's gonna be more like 19 hours,"  
"Oh I'm sorry Mr Boy Racer, but who here has a clean license? Who here has had no tickets? Who here has never been pulled over?" Tyler whipped back with a playful grin.

"Okay I get it, I'm a bad boy, that's why you're attracted to me."  
"Eh, I mean I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm attracted to you, you're okay I guess, I mean, well, if I got really drunk and squinted with a tilted head then I suppose you might look tolerable. But as for personality? Gross."  
"Fine, guess I'll just marry Zack once we finally get there. The reservation is Dun-Joseph, we didn't specify which Joseph."  
"You're gonna marry my best man?" He replied doubtfully.  
"Yep, he's cool, much cooler than you; he finished House of Cards and Game of Thrones without needing me to draw out diagrams of what is going on. And also I love him and he's the definition of perfect."  
"Honestly, you guys stay up and watch the Star Wars trilogy together one time and suddenly you're each other's number one fan. I'm starting to worry about what actually went on that night," Tyler laughed.

"Ach dammit! Minor problem," Josh said a moment later, smacking his thigh.  
"Yeah?"  
"He's straight isn't he?"  
"Fraid so,"  
"Damn, plan B I suppose, yo Ty, you busy tomorrow? Fancy getting married?"  
"I mean I'll have to check my diary," Tyler smirked. "Eh, go on then, I'll cancel my plans."  
"True love," Josh smiled, reaching across and kissing Ty on the cheek, "when it's convenient."

Tyler laughed and changed lanes, and Josh picked up his phone from where it was charging. He scrolled through Twitter for a minute and liked a few tweets from two old school friends who had recently had their first child. As he scrolled further through his timeline, he saw an Uberfact and knew Tyler loved them.

"Okay here's one for you, apparently when you eat a pineapple it eats you back. They contain an enzyme called Bromelain which digests protein and causes the burning feeling in your mouth."  
"Oh wow, that's beautiful. I mean all this time I've been trying to write the perfect vows by myself, but all I needed to do was check Uberfacts."  
"So what, you vow to always digest my tongue when I'm eating you?"  
"Romance," Tyler smirked. "Nah I reckon I could probably spin it into a vow, something about how you make me feel all tingly and that within love there's always going to be vulnerabilities and struggles but we've managed to balance that to create the strongest and most honest relationship possible."  
"Tyler Robert, if the word pineapple appears in your vows to me then I'm getting an annulment,"  
"Love you too honey,"

 

  
After driving for 5 hours, they pulled into a service station for a late lunch and met up with the family car that had passed them earlier on. They all headed into McDonalds and slumped down at a table, sending Chris up to buy as much crap as could humanly fit on one tray.

"Anyone heard from Zack?" Kelly asked.  
"Uh yep, he said he picked up Tatum and they set off about 2 and a half hours ago," Tyler answered, fiddling with his phone as he slouched against the soft bench seat.  
"I hope he gets there before dark,"  
"Mom there's these amazing things called headlights," Jay told her sarcastically.  
"I'm sure he'll be fine," Josh reassured her. "There's still 8 hours left of daylight, he's got plenty of time. And the hotel by the venue reassured me that the road is lit at night so he'll find it safely."

"Such a brown noser," Maddy heckled.  
"Well I mean your parents are paying for the whole wedding, the least I can do is suck up a bit," Josh smiled at them and then at Kelly.  
"Not the only thing you're sucking," Jay commented, earning a playful slap from his sister.  
"Jay!" Kelly exclaimed.  
"Ain't wrong though," Tyler grinned, standing up and high fiving his brother across the table.  
"Tyler!"  
"Oh mother dearest, you have the suite next to us on our wedding night. If you hadn't figured out what was going on by now then you most certainty will have done by the end of the night."  
"Tyler!" His mom exclaimed again.  
"That's what he said," Maddy giggled, joining in on winding their mom up and making Josh's face blush bright red.

"Only sucking, come on Josh, it's your wedding night! Step it up a bit man," the younger brother smirked.  
"Yeah Josh," Tyler ganged up with him.  
"Alright that's enough," Kelly decided. "You're making me feel uncomfortable,"  
"That's homophobic," Jay informed her playfully.  
"It's not a gay thing, it's a mother thing,"  
"So you mean to say that you'd also feel uncomfortable if I were to tell a story about how I went behind the bus stop and fingered Lau-"  
"Okay! I'm going to go help Dad!" Kelly interrupted, standing up and walking away, leaving her three kids in hysterics and Josh blushing.  
  
"Naw look at little Joshie," Maddy cooed.  
"Aw babe," Tyler laughed, wrapping an arm around him and kissing his pink cheek. "Are the big bad teenagers making you embarrassed?"  
"Oh you know me, I just love discussing my sex life with my future mother in law,"  
"We're just looking out for our brother," Maddy smiled guiltily.  
"Making sure he gets it up the butt." Jay added.  
"Who tops? I've always thought that J-"  
"Okay! I'm going to go help Kelly and Chris!" Josh interrupted, standing up and walking away as they all laughed.

He smiled to himself and ran his hand through his hair, then stretched out his arms as he stood beside his soon to be parents-in-law in the queue.  
"Mommy Kelly they're being mean,"  
"Oh Joshie, come here," she laughed, pulling him into a hug. "Bullies aren't they?"  
"Yeah," he sulked, letting go and taking a step closer to the counter with them.

"Ready for the wedding?" Chris asked.  
"Yeah I think so," he nodded, hand in his hair again. "Ty's quadruple checked everything and so far we haven't forgotten anything, so I guess we'll just have to wait until 10 minutes before we walk down the aisle until we remember what we've left behind."  
"It was place cards for us wasn't it darling?"  
"Yep," Kelly nodded fondly.  
"Well I guess that's one benefit of only having 8 guests including us, don't need a seating plan." Josh smiled.  
"Your sister's definitely not coming?" She asked sympathetically, wrapping herself around his arm.  
"No, she um, she thought she could do it but it was too big a secret to keep from Andrew and she had a panic attack, so she's just going to call in the morning. We'll meet up once Ty and I are back from the honeymoon."  
"Oh darling, I'm sorry,"  
"It's okay, you guys are all the family I need." Josh told them honestly as they arrived at the front of the queue.  
"Hello, welcome to McDonald's, how can I help you today?"

 

  
"Ty, Ty baby, Ty wake up darling, we're here," Josh said once he cut off the engine after him driving the second half of the journey. Tyler grumbled and twisted in the passenger seat whilst rubbing his eyes. Josh stroked his arm for a second before opening his car door and walking round to the trunk.

There were three cases, one each for the fortnight they were spending in Hawaii after the wedding, then one to share for the two nights they were staying at the wedding venue in Long Island. He picked up the case and the two garment bags containing their suits fresh from the dry cleaners, then shut the trunk and saw Tyler stretching.

"How long was I asleep?" Tyler asked as he shut the car door and took the suits off Josh, then they began walking towards the hotel entrance.  
"About 4 hours? You pretty much zonked out into a food coma after eating your body weight in Big Macs," Josh smiled, easily lifting the case up the steps and holding the door open for his fiancé.  
"Hope my suit still fits," he laughed.

"Hi, welcome to The Grand Hotel, how can I help you this evening?" The woman at reception greeted them.  
"We're here to check in please,"  
"Of course sir, do you have a booking?"  
"Yes we do," Tyler answered.  
"What name is it under?"  
"Dun,"  
"Dun-Joseph," Josh corrected, and smiled as Tyler turned and grinned at him. It was the first booking he had made under their new name, and had been a small surprise for Tyler.

"Oh you're the wedding party aren't you? Having the ceremony down by the lake house tomorrow."  
"Yeah that's us."  
"Congratulations," she smiled as she set a piece of paper and a pen on top of the desk for Josh to sign. "It's beautiful down there, I'm sure you'll have an amazing day."  
"I'm sure we will." Tyler agreed.

 

  
Josh unlocked the honeymoon suite door and led the way in. The pair had visited the hotel once before whilst scouting wedding venues, but had never stayed in the grand and simply stunning room before. Not that it could be called a room - it consisted of a comfortable living room, a work area with a massive antique desk and a wall of ancient books, a staggeringly large bathroom and a balcony looking over the Caumsett park. Not forgetting the most important room, the bedroom containing the largest double bed Josh had ever seen.

Tyler laughed as he entered the room and saw the rose petals scattered over their bed.  
"Did you organise this?"  
"Maybe?" Josh smiled guiltily, setting the bag down then taking the suits off Tyler and hanging them up in the closet. "And spoiler alert, same again tomorrow,"  
"Haha, I'm not complaining."

"Last night as Mr Dun and Mr Joseph," Josh whispered, taking Tyler's hand and walking over to the bed, then pulling him down next to him and kissing him on the lips.  
"Still can't believe I lost that coin toss," he smiled, kissed Josh again before continuing. "Joseph-Dun sounds so much better."  
"In - your - dreams," Josh teased, kissing him between words.  
"Wanna - have - sex?" Tyler copied his 'punctuation'.  
"Your Mom's - gonna - be here - any minute,"  
"Danger - turns - me - on," the younger whispered, then the trail of kisses moved from Josh's lips and down his neck, then across his collar bone. When Tyler decided that Josh's tee was getting in the way, he pulled it off over his head and threw it aside, continuing his path of kisses down Josh's chest and ribs towards his belt buckle.

"Tyler,"  
"Ssshh," he hummed before pressing his lips against the pale skin just above his pants. "Bingo," he whispered as Josh's toes curled and his jeans bulged.  
"Ty,"  
"Hmmm, maybe I'll just, kiss you here again, or here," Tyler teased, moving his way back up Josh's chest but rubbing his hip against Josh's dick.  
"Baby please,"  
"Oh but Jishwa, we didn't unpack the lube," Tyler taunted, knowing exactly what he was doing.  
"Don't care, use your mouth," Josh begged, back arching as Tyler ran his fingers down his abdomen again, erection still firm against the constrictive jeans. "And take the damn pants off."  
"Jooosssshhh," he whispered, raspy hot breath against Josh's pelvis. "Say please,"  
"Please," Josh urged Tyler, one hand gripping the pillow by his head and the other knotted in Tyler's messy brown hair. Tyler began undoing his belt when suddenly there was a knock on the door and he began to chuckle, but Josh wasn't finding it so funny.

"Guess we'll just have to finish up later," Tyler grinned, rolling off Josh and standing up.  
"You're a bully, you know that right?"  
"Come on, Mommy Kelly's waiting."  
"Ty," he sulked. "Pweaze, she'll come back later, I need you now,"  
"Here, catch," he heard Tyler say, and begrudgingly sat up in bed as a hoodie landed next to him. "Tie it round your waist, stick your shirt back on, be pleasant to my mother and then we'll kick her out and finish you off."  
"Meanie," Josh groaned, but his fiancé had already left the room to answer the door. He rolled out of bed and carefully positioned the hoodie, praying that Kelly wouldn't reach for a hug, then put on his top and anxiously walked to meet them in the living room.

"Hey,"  
"Hey darling," Kelly smiled, and he was relieved to see that she was sat down.  
"Mom came to see what's up, what's up Jishwa?" Tyler told him, grinning proudly at his choice of words.  
"I wanted to check that you're both okay,"  
"We're great thanks," Josh replied honestly, sitting down next to Tyler and wrapping an arm across the top of their couch.  
"I'm a bit stiff from the car actually," Tyler said, rubbing his neck and causing Josh to gulp.  
"Did you sleep at all?"  
"Yeah all the way from MaccyDs. But I think Josh needs to go to bed soon," he smirked.  
"Tired sweetheart?"  
"Yes," Josh lied, and Tyler leaned against him.

"Oh sorry, am I poking into you?" He tried to say with a straight face, moving the elbow that Josh knew he had purposefully pressed against him just to say that.  
"Course not darling, you never do anything that gets me hot under the collar." Josh smirked back.  
"Good, I don't want to hurt you, give you a throbbing bruise,"  
"No, that would be very bad of you Tyler, very bad,"  
"Boys!" Kelly clapped her hands together, snapping them out of their hungry stare. "Listen to me, the sexual tension between you two is unreal and that hoodie trick didn't work when you were teenagers and it doesn't work now. Get in that bedroom and do whatever you need to do, then freshen yourselves up and meet me in my room. This, this is too weird for a mother to be involved in. Sort each other out."

 

  
Half an hour later and, after Tyler finished the job he had started and Josh returned the favour, they showered together and headed down the corridor to Kelly and Chris's room. Tyler knocked and they stood back, smirking across at each other with a slight laugh, Josh fiddling with the bottle of champagne that had been left in their room alongside two glass flutes.

"All better?" Kelly opened the door.  
"All better." Tyler nodded, Josh too awkward to say anything. But nevertheless he smiled and she laughed back at him as they entered.  
"It's your wedding weekend, don't worry," she whispered discreetly to him as they hugged. "Everyone's in the living room area; Zack and Tatum have arrived, they're just getting checked in and they'll be along literally any second,"

"Hello hello," Tyler smiled as they walked into the larger room where the rest of his siblings + his dad were sprawled our comfortably.  
"We brought champagne," Josh announced, setting the bottle and glasses down on the coffee table.  
"For us? Aw that's sweet, thank you." Kelly said warmly.  
"Can we have some Mom?" Maddy asked.  
"Dad? What do you think?" Kelly asked Chris, who took a moment to consider.  
"Go on then,"  
"They only gave us two glasses," Josh said, but Jay come up with a solution almost instantly.  
"There's a whole bunch of plastic cups in the bathroom, I'll grab them."  
"Thanks darling," Kelly called after the fourteen year old as he went to get them.

"Guys I don't know if you had anything different planned, but we were talking about getting some room service in for dinner later?" Chris informed the couple. "Obviously your wedding, you might have had a restaurant in mind and we can do that-"  
"Nah, room service sounds good to me." Tyler nodded as Jay walked back in and started handing out glasses and cups.

"Thank you," Maddy said, taking the clear plastic cup he offered her.  
"Thanks," Chris copied.  
"Oh, no, give Mom a glass." Tyler told Jay, handing him a flute as he tried to give Kelly a plastic cup as well.  
"Thank you,"  
"But can I get a plastic cup please?" Tyler asked him and he nodded and gave him his mom's.  
"Tyler darling no, you're teetotal for a reason. I know it's your wedding but it's really not a good idea, what with your medication and-" Kelly warned him.  
"Mom I'm just going to fill it with water, I'm okay,"  
"Sure?" Josh asked, rubbing Tyler's lower back supportively.  
"Yeah, and you have a glass or two, it's your wedding too, it's okay." He answered to Josh's relief.  
"Thanks babe. Should I do the honour?" He asked, taking the bottle in his hands.  
"Just don't blind me with the cork." Maddy warned him as she was sitting directly opposite. He laughed and peeled off the foil, then battled with cork for a few seconds before finally getting the signature pop sound and pouring the sparkling liquid into everyone's glass but Tyler's. They all took theirs and clinked with various cheers, then settled back down.

"Tyler baby, do you want to get something from the minibar?" Kelly offered.  
"Hey! How come he's allowed and we're not?!" Jay protested.  
"When you meet the love of your life and vow to spend the rest of your life together, I'll treat you to a Red Bull, deal?"  
"There's Red Bull?" Tyler face lit up and Josh laughed as he basically sprinted out of the room to get a can.

"Joshie,"  
"Yeah?" He smiled at his soon to be sister in law.  
"What did you do for your stag?"  
"I went out with some friends from work and law school, nothing too extravagant,"  
"Oh is that right?" Tyler laughed doubtfully as he walked back in with a red bull and sat in Josh's lap. "Falling through the door at 5 in the morning in just your pants? Nothing else, no shoes, no wallet, no phone. Keeping me up worried sick all night?"  
"Tyler calling me and keeping me up worried sick all night." Kelly agreed with a smirk.  
"Kelly on the phone to Tyler keeping me up worried sick all night." Chris added.  
"Sounds like a good night to me." Jay smiled.  
"Yep," Josh laughed. "Nah I um, I don't drink very often so when I do I can't handle my alcohol very well at all. So to be honest with you Maddy, I don't have a clue what happened that night. All I remember is Tyler waving me off and telling me to have fun, and I presume that's what I did."

"Ah Josh, I'm so glad that you're setting such a good example to my kids." Chris told him sarcastically with a flat face.  
"Oh Chris stop it," Kelly warned him, pretending to slap him as she moved to sit next to him.  
"Josh you're a perfect role model to our kids and the best thing to have ever happened to this family." He corrected honestly.  
"Amen," Tyler smiled, pressing his lips against Josh's.

 

 

After Tatum and Zack had joined the group in Kelly and Chris's room and they had ordered in room service and eaten to their heart's content, everyone went back to their rooms for some down time. Tyler decided to unpack whilst Josh went out on the balcony and called his sister.

"Ashley, hey, can you go somewhere so we can talk?"  
"Oh hi Khloe, one sec let me step outside a minute girl so that Andrew doesn't have to listen to us bitch about the office for the hundredth time this week." Ashley made her excuses which Josh knew were for her boyfriend's benefit. He waited patiently whilst she went somewhere more private where they wouldn't have to worry about eavesdroppers.

"Okay, sorry, we're good."  
"Thank you, so how are you?" Josh asked, leaning against the balcony side and peering out at the park in the dark.  
"I'm uh, I'm pretty crappy actually J, I really wanted to be there tomorrow and I feel awful that I've pulled out, feel like I've let you both down." She replied truthfully.  
"Ash you haven't let us down, you tried your best and that's all you can do."  
"But it's your wedding J, my big brother is getting married and none of his family are going to be there."  
"They are, these guys are my family,"  
"I'm glad you have them but I just wish you could come home."  
"I don't." Josh said honestly. "They're my relatives by genetics but they're not a family, not really. Family's about love at the end of the day, it's about being comfortable and making each other feel accepted and important and the Duns never did that for me. So honestly? I'm glad that my surname's changing tomorrow, I'm glad they don't have a hold over me anymore, I'm glad I could escape that toxic environment and join a family who actually look after me."  
"Josh,"

"It's not you Ash, you know you'll always be my sister, but I wish that you would separate yourself from them too. They're not good for you, I mean you're having panic attacks,"  
"Yeah," she sighed and Josh could tell she was crying. It didn't take much to set her off, and Josh blamed his 'family' for that too.  
"We have to cut out the negative things in our lives, take it upon ourselves to create somewhere we can grow and flourish. That's what I'm creating with Ty, a relationship and a life where he knows he's comfortable and safe and can get better and actually be happy. And he does the same thing for me, I'm the happiest I've ever been, I mean tomorrow's my wedding day and I wouldn't exchange it for anything. Our parents treated me like complete shit, I mean for fucks sake they tried to kill Ty, but knowing that in the end our love grew stronger in spite of all their hate, it makes it worth it. Love always has been and always will be stronger than hate."

"I, I love you, and, and I hate them," Ashley almost whispered.  
"I love you too,"  
"I'm really proud of you J,"  
"Thank you, so am I," Josh smiled.  
"You've made a really crappy situation really great."  
"That's just what Ty and I do."

"I wish Mom and Dad could see you now, like a big fuck you moment,"  
"Tyler wants to send them an invite," Josh admitted.  
"What? Invite them to the wedding? Does he realise they'll ruin it?!"  
"No no, he knows, he just things we should mail them an invite once we're on the honeymoon. He wants them to know that we got married basically for the same reason as you, a big fuck you."  
"You should do it," she sniffed.  
"Nah, it's just provocative."  
"So?! Do it Josh, please, it's your chance to show them that they're wrong. They tried to kill him, an invite in the mail is nothing in comparison,"  
"You're trying to lead me astray," he chuckled. "I'll think about it."

"You gonna be okay tomorrow?"  
"It's my wedding day, I'm gonna be more than okay."  
"I'm just thinking about Debby. I know it's hard not having her here for the important days."  
"I knew what you meant, yeah I would have loved to have her at my wedding of course, but I also know that she wouldn't want me to do anything dumb like not marry him just because she's not here."  
"Yeah,"  
"And she will be there in our hearts,"  
"Course she will, I'm sure she's very proud of you both."  
"Thank you," Josh smiled, looking out across the huge lake at the side of the park. "We're going to do a moments silence for her,"  
"That's lovely J,"  
"Least we can do."

"Listen, Andrew's probably wondering where I am and Ty probably wants some fiancé time so I better go,"  
"Okay,"  
"What time is the ceremony tomorrow?"  
"6pm,"  
"Sunset? Cute," she said and he smiled. "I promise I'll call you before,"  
"Looking forward to it."  
"Love you J,"  
"Love you too, bye,"  
"Bye."

Josh smiled to himself as he slid the device back into his pocket and took a moment to look out at the amazing view before walking back through the glass door and into the living room. He closed the door and pulled the curtain across, then went into the bedroom. As he entered, he saw Tyler was crouched on the floor with his hands on his head and his eyes squeezed tightly closed. Josh could hear his rapid breathing and see the tears on his cheeks.

"Ty, Ty I'm here sweetie, what happened?" He asked gently, crouching next to him. "Can I touch you?"  
"I forgot to pack my medication," Tyler whispered.  
"Oh babe it's okay, we'll find them, do you want me to look for them now or do you want me to stay with you?"  
"They're not here, I forgot them," he repeated, running a shaky hand through his hair. "Two weeks without meds, I can't do it, I'm gonna ruin everything, I'm gonna ruin the wedding,"  
"Tyler look at me, you won't ruin the wedding. We'll deal with it I promise. I'm pretty sure we did pack them because they were on the kitchen table and it was definitely clear when we left. But if we did somehow leave them behind then I always carry emergency PRN tablets in the glovebox of the car, so we can use that for the wedding and then change the Hawaii flights to give us time to swing by the house and pick them up. Okay?"  
"Okay," Tyler nodded tearfully, and Josh rubbed his back supportively.

"I'm sorry," he sniffed a moment later and Josh just hugged him close against his chest and pressed his lips to Tyler's head.  
"S'okay, it's all okay Ty,"  
"Can we, can we look for them now please?"  
"Course darling," Josh smiled and helped him to stand.

"You sit there and calm down, and I'll look," he instructed warmly, sitting him down on the end of the bed and passing him a tissue.  
"Thanks," Tyler whispered as he wiped his face with it. Josh watched him for a moment before turning to face the suitcase up on the dresser. It was empty but he ran his hands through all the pockets to make sure the pills weren't hidden. After that he opened the drawers where Tyler had put their folded clothes and flicked between each of them, again to no avail. Next he checked the wardrobe and there was nothing, then finally he searched the bathroom bags but still hadn't laid eyes on the pills organiser.

"No?"  
"No not here sweetie." Josh told his fiancé, sitting next to him on the end of the bed. "But do you want to come and check the car with me?"  
"Please," he nodded. Josh grabbed his hoodie but saw Tyler eyeing it.  
"Let me guess? You wanna wear mine?"  
"I'm upset, you can't say no," he sniffed lightheartedly, much to Josh's relief.  
"As if I could ever say no to that face," Josh smiled, kissing him on the forehead then holding the hoodie whilst Tyler threaded his arms through the slightly too long sleeves. Josh picked up a different jacket and put it on, then held out his hand for Tyler to take.

 

Josh unlocked the car and opened the passenger seat as Tyler stood slightly back, still quiet and occasionally wiping away tears. Meanwhile Josh leant down and opened the glove compartment and quickly located 5 sheets of pills each with 2 or 3 left, enough to get Tyler through the next day and a half.  
"There we go sweetheart, fluoxetine, trazodone, maprotiline, pregabalin and clozapine, full house."  
"Thank you," he smiled softly, taking them from him and sliding them into the kangaroo pocket of the oversized hoodie he was wearing.  
"I'm actually just gonna check the trunk because I swear we brought them." Josh decided, closing the passenger door and popping the trunk open. He quickly scanned the floor of it but soon discovered that it was empty except their two cases for Hawaii. It only took a moment to unzip Tyler's and sure enough, all 4 pill organisers were resting on top of his clothes.

"Ty babe, you'll never believe what I just found," he called out and Tyler walked round.  
"Are they all there?" Tyler groaned.  
"Yep, week 1 morning, week 1 evening, week 2 morning, week 2 evening. Present and correct." Josh counted with a smile, pulling Tyler into a hug. "Told you it would be okay,"  
"It's gonna be okay," Tyler repeated, reassuring himself with closed eyes.

"Come on you, let's go sit and talk somewhere. Are you cold?" Josh said.  
"Okay, and uh, no,"  
"Let's not forget these." He smiled lightheartedly, picking up two of the pill organisers and sliding them in his pocket, then closing and locking the trunk. Taking hold of Tyler's hand, they casually walked across the parking lot and down the side of the hotel towards the lake. Their venue was the opposite side of the dark glimmering water and Josh could just about make out the silhouette of the building, but instead they were walking to sit on a bench just a few metres from the lake edge on their side. Josh sat against an arm whereas Tyler snuggled up against him and rested his feet on the bench as well, relaxing into Josh's side.

"Comfy?"  
"Very," Tyler yawned.  
"Ty be honest, you feeling okay about tomorrow?"  
"I think so, I mean I definitely was until I couldn't find the pills but then yeah, got all upset. I shouldn't have been that upset, they were just in the other case, obviously they were in the other case, I should have thought about it rationally for a moment, so I don't know." He rambled nervously.  
"Last minute bride stress, it's normal," Josh told him, rubbing his arm supportively.  
"Hey why am I the bride?!" Tyler complained quietly with a tired laugh.  
"Guess a bride kinda defeats the object of a gay wedding," he smiled, running his hand through Tyler's hair.

"You know at the service station I was talking to your mom whilst you and Jay were having that Big Mac eating competition,"  
"Yeah," Tyler listened.  
"She was telling me about her wedding to your dad, about the beautiful venue, all the lovely toasts and speeches, the cake, the dancing, her dress, the ceremony of course. I asked her her favourite bit, and do you know what it was?"  
"What?"  
"They forgot to bring the place cards. 140 specially ordered handmade place cards left on the kitchen table, and a seating plan ruined. So you know what they did? Your mom was distraught, bridal stress, thought the whole wedding was ruined, so your dad went into town and bought everything they needed, then they spent the whole night before making new ones. She said it was the best bit, sitting with your dad and trying out their best cursive whilst laughing and kidding about. He managed to turn it all around for her, swooped in like her hero in shining armour and saved the day."  
"Sounds like Dad," Tyler smiled.

"Absolutely. What I'm trying to say Ty is that there's no way in Hell you're going to ruin this wedding. We will deal with it together, as a team, if this all becomes too much and you get yourself worked up. The ceremony, that's just to make you smile - if it's going to make you feel on edge then we can rearrange and simply do the legal stuff. Heck, we can postpone if you need to. Tyler at the end of the day, the thing that's important to me is you being okay."

"I'm scared my vows aren't good enough,"  
"You say good enough as if there's going to be a panel of judges marking them, but it's nothing like that. Tyler, you wrote them from your heart for me and that honestly means the world. You took the time and the effort to write down how much you love me; no matter the words, the sentiment is enough." Josh reassured him, still playing with his hair as they stared out at the rippled moon reflection in the lake.

"And anyway Tyler, you're unbelievably talented with words, I'm sure they're going to make me cry."  
"But that's what everyone expects, everyone says that I'm this amazing writer and that I'm going to make everyone cry and I'm not."  
"Okay firstly you are. Secondly, so what if hypothetically they're bad? So what if you get up there and vow to be my pineapple? Do you think I'm going to refuse to marry you? Just leave you at the alter? Tyler Joseph you're the love of my life, the embodiment of everything that's good and right in this world, and tomorrow you're officially going to be my partner in crime for the rest of our lives. But I don't need it in writing because I already have it in feelings. I know we're going to be together forever. I know that because when you look at me the whole world stops spinning, when you touch me my body erupts with fireworks, and when you tell me you love me my heart does a backflip. I love you Tyler, I love you with every fibre of my being and I've never been happier than I am now. Tomorrow is going to be the second best day of my life, because the first will always always be that day I met you and Mrs Piper made us biology lab partners and my life changed forever."  
"I love you Josh,"  
"Backflip," he smiled, then kissed the top of his head.

"Thank you, I needed to hear that."  
"Course sweetheart. Is there anything else you're worried about?" Josh asked lovingly.  
"No, no I'm not worried, it's all gonna be okay."  
"It's all going to be okay," he reassured his fiancé. "It's your family, Tatum, and me, that's all. We all absolutely adore you and there's no way that tomorrow is going to get ruined I promise. If you feel anxious later or tomorrow then don't overthink it, everyone gets nervous on their wedding day. But I promise I'll be at that alter and I promise that this time tomorrow you'll be Mr Dun-Joseph."  
"Mr Dun-Joseph, been doodling that in my journal since we met."  
"Oh is that what you've been getting up to hey?" Josh smiled, still fiddling with Tyler's hair as he was deep in thought staring across the lake.

"Josh,"  
"Yeah babe,"  
"Can you still backflip?" He asked, peering up at him with a small smirk and gleaming eyes.  
"Course I can, I'm the backflip king." Josh answered proudly as he puffed up his chest.  
"Prove it."  
"Eh, I dunno babe," he back-pedalled with a laugh.  
"When was the last time you did one?"  
"Pff, urm, prom I think?"  
"Oh yeah," Tyler laughed. "And you almost knocked Mr Hamilton out."  
"Well he shouldn't have been in my way." Josh laughed back. "Do you wanna head back in?"  
"Stop trying to change the subject, I'm not marrying you unless you do one."  
"6 years Ty, do you want me to break my back?" He chuckled as Tyler stood up off the bench and held his hands.  
"Okay not here then, but how about you try on the bed?"  
"As long as that's not the only thing we do in bed." Josh smirked as he stood up and embraced Tyler, then planted a kiss on his lips.

 

 

Tyler and Josh were awoken suddenly by the sound of two silver trays bashing together on the morning of their wedding. They both sat bolt up right and saw Zack marching along the end of their bed whilst crashing the trays together and Kelly walking in and shaking her head with a laugh.  
"What the?" Tyler complained and his brother finally stopped making them all flinch.  
"Mr Tyler Joseph, it is your wedding day, therefore you cannot look at the handsome Mr Joshua Dun until you're at the alter. Mother will now escort you out." Zack informed them as a matter of fact.  
"How did you even get in?" Josh groaned as he rubbed his eyes.  
"I have friends in high places."  
"You left your second key in our room," Kelly explained.  
"Mother!" Zack barked at her and she laughed. "Mother, please remove Mr Joseph."

"What's going on?" Josh asked confused.  
"Oh darling it's a good job you're attractive." Zack shook his head and Kelly laughed. "Obviously it's bad luck to see each other on the day of your wedding, so Mother is taking Tyler and I'm staying with you."  
"Aren't you supposed to be my best man?" Tyler laughed.  
"Sorry dude, the bromance is too strong. Joshie's all mine. You have to get up and leave immediately."  
"I mean I'm naked but sure," Tyler grinned, pretending to shuffle across from under the covers.

"Zack buddy, as much as I love you, we're staying together today." Josh told him whilst holding Tyler's hand.  
"Told you Zacky," Kelly smiled from the wall she was leaning against.  
"Cut it out Mother." Zack snapped playfully.  
"Oi, cut it out yourself." Tyler retaliated protectively with a smile. "Take your silver trays - where did you even get them? - and your bromance feels and get out of our room."  
"Jees it's like being 5 years old all over again," Zack tutted and began walking out. "Happy wedding day boys," he winked then left.

"So I take it that was your idea?" Tyler smiled jokingly at his mom.  
"Oh you know me so well Ty, trays is just my style," she laughed. "But I was right yeah? You wanna be together today?"  
"Yep. Josh is on last minute meltdown duty."  
"You're gonna be absolutely fine Tyler." His mom reassured him.  
"Yeah I will," he agreed, hugging himself against Josh's bare chest.

"Good. I'm sorry about Zack, but I said I was going to come and wake you up, and you know what he's like once he's got an idea in his head."  
"It's fine, what time is it?" Josh asked, rubbing his eyes.  
"9.20, they stop serving breakfast at 10."  
"Oh Jees, we had a big lie in."  
"Well we stayed up quite late," Tyler giggled.  
"Alright boys try and keep your pants on - well put some pants on - till after breakfast, we're all waiting for you in my room."  
"Hehe thanks Mom,"  
"See you in a couple of minutes, love you both."  
"Love you too," Josh called after her.

 

The hotel provided a buffet breakfast in their restaurant and the group pushed together two tables so that all 8 of them could sit together. Everyone was in good spirits as they went up and down to the buffet counter and returned with plates after plates of food.

"I'm done," Tatum laughed as she flopped back against her chair and cradled her stomach.  
"3 plates? Feeble." Zack retorted as he crammed in eggs from his 6th.  
"Don't talk with your mouth full," his mom warned him.  
"Some of us have bridesmaid dresses to fit in." Maddy told him.  
"And one of you has a best man suit to fit in, slow down Zack, you're gonna make yourself sick."  
"Mom have you ever met Zack? He doesn't get full. I once watched him eat a whole roast chicken, like the whole thing," Tyler laughed.

"Hello, good morning, I have two glasses of champagne for the grooms, complimentary from the manager." A waiter told them with a smile, then took the two flutes off his tray and placed them down in front of Tyler and Josh.  
"Oh thank you, thanks," Josh smiled.  
"Have a good day," he said, then walked away.

"Here, Mom, you can have it." Tyler told her quietly as he picked up his and passed it across to her.  
"Thank you baby,"  
"Do you want me to talk to them? Get you orange juice or something?" Josh asked.  
"Nah, it's um, it's fine, I mean Mom's not complaining,"  
"But baby it's your wedding day, if you want a non-alcoholic drink then that's okay." Kelly told him.  
"Honestly guys, enjoy,"  
"Cheers Kel," Josh held out his glass.  
"Cheers," she clinked hers.

"Oh, Tyler man, I've got that surprise thing for Josh." Zack said as he clattered his fork down against his empty plate.  
"Subtle," Tyler laughed.  
"It's in my car, wanna get it now or later?"  
"Later."  
"Alright just let me know,"  
"Will do,"  
"Yeah you're the bosses today boys, you tell us what to do and and when," Kelly added.  
"How is that any different from normal?" Jay asked with a laugh. "Tyler could literally ask you to pop back home and get him an apple and you would do it without a second thought, 18 hour round trip."  
"Well we all know that he's my favourite," their mom agreed and they all laughed.

"Don't worry Joshie, you're my favourite." Zack winked at him.  
"I'm your favourite child?" Josh replied doubtfully.  
"Favourite brother."  
"Hey!" Both Jay and Tyler exclaimed at the same time.  
"What is it that you always say Maddy, bromance? There's some bromance going on here." Chris said and they all laughed again.  
"See I'm not the only one who's noticed!" Tyler chuckled as he wrapped a hand round Josh and stroked the back of his neck with his thumb.

"Pssst, Josh, you still down for that whole ditching Ty and running away to Hawaii together thing?" Zack whispered loudly.  
"Pssst, Zack, you've brought a hula skirt right?"  
"Course bro," he said then blew a kiss across the table.  
"They watched the Star Wars trilogy together once! One time!" Tyler exclaimed in slight disbelief.  
"Best love trilogy of all time. Hella romantic," Zack smiled.  
"Don't two twins kiss?" Kelly said doubtfully.  
"That's just a technicality,"  
"Think you two are the ones in need of crazy pills." Tyler laughed. "And yes Mom, before you ask, I have taken them."  
"I only ask because I care," she smiled at him.  
"I know I know, and I love you,"  
"Love you too darling."  
"Yeah we get it, everyone loves everyone," Jay groaned.  
"Could you be anymore of a cliche teen if you tried?" His mom asked with a grin.

 

 

Josh was sprawled out on a couch in their living room for the weekend when Tyler finally came back from retrieving the mystery surprise that Zack was hiding in his car. Tyler smiled a little shyly as he walked in, one hand hidden behind his back. So that he could sit next to him, Josh swung his legs down to the ground and grinned back.

"Okay so Zack totally ruined the surprise, but I got you a little something," Tyler began.  
"You didn't have to,"  
"Nope, but I wanted to Josh. And it's nothing, nothing at all, in comparison to what you've given me, but it's a gesture at least to say thank you basically, thank you for saving my life."  
"Thank you for giving me a life," Josh smiled back, resisting the urge to kiss him.  
"If you don't like it then-"  
"I love it already,"  
"You haven't even seen it yet,"  
"If you chose it then I love it,"  
"Stop being a flirt!" Tyler laughed. "If you don't like it then tell me and I'll sort it."  
"Thank you sweetie,"  
"Alright," he nodded, then placed a black box in Josh's hand. He immediately recognised the small crown symbol of Rolex on its top, and felt his breath slip away from him.

"Tyler," he whispered, lost for words.  
"Open it." He instructed, and Josh did. The hinge opened without a sound and revealed a stunning golden Rolex in a bed of silk wrapped around a cylindrical fabric holder to present it. Josh reached in and slid it off, holding his breath in awe of the gift, afraid to break it but also desperate to feel it against his skin.  
"It's, it's, wow, Ty, I don't know what to say,"  
"And look on the back," Tyler told him. Josh flipped the face over in his hands and saw that his fiancé had gotten the back of the watch engraved. It read: You are the calm to my storm.

"Is it okay?" He asked anxiously.  
"Okay? Tyler this is amazing, honestly amazing." Josh replied with a grin, kissing him on the lips. "Thank you so so much."  
"You're welcome,"  
"This must have been so expensive Ty,"  
"Don't even think about that, I had some savings and yeah, if I can't be extravagant on my wedding day then when can I? But never mention price again, it's a gift," Tyler reassured him as he slid the watch on, clipping it closed with a perfect fit. He couldn't help but grin at the stunning piece of jewellery that he had already decided would become his daily watch.

"I bought it quite a while ago and planned on getting it engraved but the first guy I went to was super rude and in the end I decided it didn't feel right, and that put me off trying to find someone until like last week. Finally found someone and they said they could get it back to me by yesterday and yeah, I was stressing that it wouldn't be done in time and eventually Zack just went and got it for me. But it all turned out okay in the end!"  
"How was he rude to you?" Josh asked concerned.  
"Oh it was nothing really, I was just having one of my oversensitive days."  
"No come on, even if you did interpret it very strongly, there must have been something to upset you."  
"Just asked if I was, quote, one of them poofters, then said my engraving was a cliche."  
"Jees," Josh sighed disappointed. "Was that the day you got upset at dinner and went to bed?"  
"Yeh,"  
"Right, did you report him to the manager?"  
"Nah,"  
"Okay first thing we do when we get home from Hawaii is talk to that douche's manager, nobody talks to my husband like that and gets away with it." Josh told him, wrapping an arm around him.  
"Husband," Tyler smiled to himself, and Josh did the same.  
"Sounds good ay?" He said, but before Tyler could answer there was a knock at the door. They stood up, Josh still wearing his Rolex and a smile, and walked to answer it together. Josh undid the latch and Zack was stood there panting.

"Just, ran up, 12, flights of stairs,"  
"There's an elevator bro," Tyler smirked.  
"Shh, no time, you have to go downstairs, there's a problem,"  
"Riiiight," Josh smiled doubtfully.  
"I'm not kidding, you gotta go to the lobby,"  
"Yep," Tyler nodded along.  
"Something about not having a valid outdoor license?"  
"An outdoor license?"  
"Like apparently you guys didn't get one." Zack told Josh, who still wasn't falling for it, but he turned to see that Tyler looked a little panicked and a slight sense of seriousness fell over him.

"The venue has one, I checked."  
"Yeah but you needed to apply for one for you two as well, specific for each wedding. It's like a different section of the license."  
"We got a licence." Josh said definitely.  
"Yes a licence, but not an outdoor specific licence,"  
"Josh," Tyler whispered.  
"Ty it's fine I promise, it doesn't work like that, they have one and that's all we need." Josh reassured him, hugging him.  
"It doesn't work like that in Ohio, it does in New York. I'm serious guys, you've gotta go downstairs and sort it out because as it is right now the wedding won't be valid."  
"Zack are you trying to give your brother a fucking panic attack?" Josh growled as he held Tyler tight against his chest.  
"I'm sorry okay, just go downstairs and see if you can sort it out. The person from the venue is with the hotel manager trying to figure it all out." Zack told them, and Josh pulled Tyler out of the room and closed the door behind them, all three men walking towards the elevator.

"Ty, babe listen to me, I'll fix it I promise, it's gonna be okay, it's gonna be fine," Josh whispered as Tyler buried his face in Josh's chest whilst they waited for the elevator to arrive. The bell dinged as the doors opened and Josh felt his fiancé jump, then led him into the small box and Zack pressed the floor number.

"I'm really sorry, but listen guys, even if it's not valid we can still do the wedding. We can just do the legal stuff once you're back home from the honeymoon," Zack attempted to reassure them.  
"But we can't, that's the whole reason we're in New York," Josh said slowly but firmly, Tyler still hidden against his pecs. "We're same sex, we can't get married in Ohio, it had to be here."  
"Um, maybe there's a slot at city hall?"  
"It's Memorial Day, that's how we all got time off work, city hall is shut." He murmured, not wanting to scare Tyler but also growing more and more concerned.

The elevator finally stopped moving and the door opened, Zack lead the way out and Tyler tore himself from Josh's chest but remained latched firmly around his arm. Zack walked around the corner to the front desk where Josh saw a woman, and instantly his heart stopped as he recognised her.

"Hi I'm the license lady," she struggled to keep a straight face, and Tyler let go of Josh and instantly jumped and high fived Zack in the air, then they both high fived her in fits of laughter.

"You were in on this?!" Josh exclaimed at his fiancé as he covered his face in disbelief.  
"I am an actor," Tyler bowed with a giggle.  
"Ashley Jesus Christ, what on Earth is going on? That wasn't funny!" Josh felt like crying as he embraced the fake license lady.  
"Couldn't miss my brother's wedding could I?" She actually cried, squeezing him tight.  
"I love you so so so much," he whispered into her ear as he felt his own cheeks turn damp.  
"I love you too, I love you," his sister replied. "After your call last night I just couldn't stand to not be here. I set off at 5.30 this morning and yeah, here I am, just in time."  
"What about Andrew?" Josh asked, stepping out to the hug but still holding her.  
"Forget about him, it's your special day,"  
"Thank you so much," he said, hugging her again.

"And Josh man, I'm sorry, I felt really mean doing that." Zack apologised once the siblings broke apart.  
"So all the licenses are good yeah?" Josh checked.  
"Yeah,"  
"I always knew you two were bullies, don't go turning my sister against me too," he sulked as Tyler laughed then wrapped his arm around Josh.  
"I'm sorry babe, but you were too relaxed, we're getting married in 3 hours," Tyler grinned then pressed his lips against his.

"Just a little fyi, this," Zack told Ashley, drawing a ring with his finger around them making out. "has been my life for the last 4 years."  
"All the time?"  
"All the time."  
"Joy," she giggled.

"Oh Ash, I take it you've met Zack then?" Josh said as Tyler pulled away.  
"Yeah we've met a few times actually," she nodded quietly.  
"Really? When?"  
"When you went to Indonesia she came round a couple of times, we ran operation find Joshie together." Zack explained and she nodded. "And we had a reunion in the parking lot. Tyler came down to get the Rolex - wait you gave it to him right?"  
"Yes," Tyler laughed as his brother potentially spoiled the surprise a second time.  
"Yeah well we were getting it and then Ashley parked next to us by coincidence, so of course our first thought was how can we make Josh have a breakdown on his wedding day,"

"J I thought you said these boys were nice to you," Ashley giggled, playing with the handle of her suitcase.  
"They made me say that."  
"Held a knife to his throat." Tyler agreed with a laugh. "But yeah, she's checked into a room and I said we could probably just about squeeze one more person onto the super packed guest list."  
"Course. Do you guys mind giving us a minute? I'll take her to her room and then we'll meet you in Kelly's?"  
"See you in a minute babe." Tyler said with a goodbye kiss, then walked off with his brother and left Josh alone with his sister.

"It's so good to see you," Josh told her as they hugged again.  
"You too,"  
"And you're okay yeah?"  
"Yeah I think so,"  
"What did you tell Andrew?"  
"Training course thing for work, I don't know if he believed me but I'm here now and I'm not leaving till you're married." She answered as they began walking towards the elevator.  
"3 hours to go,"  
"Nervous?"  
"I was absolutely fine until you guys played that mean trick on me. I thought that we wouldn't be able get married and I was freaking out, trying to stay calm for Ty, trying to come up with a solution, trying to remember the marriage license small print." He shook his head with a laugh as they climbed in. "But no, I'm great thank you, excited more than anything."  
"Good, 5th floor please."  
"K," Josh said as he pressed the button.

"So I don't even know what your married name is going to be, Josh Joseph?"  
"Nah the Duns can't get rid of me that easily, we're both gonna be Dun-Joseph."  
"Dun-Joseph, got a nice ring to it," Ashley smiled. "And who's here?"  
"So there's Ty's parents Kelly and Chris, his sister Maddy, his brothers Jay and Zack, and Zack's girlfriend Tatum."  
"I think I met Jay when you were away but he was like 9 or something, doubt he remembers me because I barely remember him. And obviously Zack and I teamed up, but I think Kelly and Chris were busy looking after Tyler because that was when he was hallucinating and I'm fairly certain I've never met them. Never met the girls either."  
"Well Kelly's basically my best friend so I've told her all about you," he told her and she laughed. "They're all great, so so great, and they'll love you I'm sure."  
"Hope so,"

"Let me know if your anxiety spikes okay?"  
"Okay, I um, the 9 hour drive was quite calming so I'm good right now, but if it does then I'll tell you."  
"Good. And these guys are like the most understanding people ever, I mean you know Ty's history, if you say you're having anxiety then they'll do whatever they can to help you feel comfortable. Panic attacks and anxiety and mental health are spoken about just as openly and casually as sport or TV in this family." Josh explained as they turned out of the elevator are arrived at her, then she unlocked it.  
"Different from home."  
"Yep just a bit, put up or shut up; basically polar opposites. I'll help you unpack and then I'll introduce you."

 

  
"It's unlocked darling!" Josh heard Kelly call, so he pushed the door open and held it for Ashley, then went into the hotel room too. He lead the way into the living room where everyone was sat, and they all smiled as the siblings entered.  
"Hi guys, this is my sister Ashley,"  
"Hi," she waved awkwardly.  
"Jay, Zack obviously, Chris, Ty obviously, Maddy, Tatum, Kelly," Josh went round the room and pointed.  
"Nice to finally meet you all,"  
"Oh Ashley, would it be okay if I gave you a hug?" Kelly asked.  
"Ok," she nodded and Kelly walked over to her.  
"I feel like I know you already! So lovely to finally put a face to the name, and a gorgeous one at that!"  
"Aw thank you," Ashley smiled as Kelly let go, then moved over and gave Josh a big hug too.

"Can't leave my other Dun out can I?"  
"Nope. Mommy Kelly did you see the Rolex your son got me?" He said, and she released him then held his forearm and admired the beautiful watch.  
"Remind me again why I'm paying for this wedding?" Chris asked and got a few laughs.  
"Tyler Joseph do we need to be having words about erratic behaviour?" She warned him but Josh could tell by the smile on her face that she liked it.  
"It's erratic in the name of love, not in the name of being sick," Tyler answered with a grin.  
"Well it's beautiful darling, good pick. And you deserve it Joshie."  
"He got it inscribed too," Josh told her proudly, sliding it off and passing it to her to inspect. She read the messaged and cooed.  
"Can I see it Mom?" Maddy asked.  
"Me too," Tatum requested.  
"Yeah pass it round," Josh nodded when Kelly looked over for permission. She gave it to Tatum and they both awwed and ahhhed over it before passing it along to Chris.

"Ashley darling, take my seat, sit with the girls if you'd like. Maddy's the blonde one," Kelly said softly to Josh's sister.  
"Oh thank you,"  
"You're that sister that Josh is always going on about," Maddy smiled as Ashley sat down.  
"You're that adoptive sister that Josh is always going on about," Ashley countered and they both laughed.

"I'm Tatum, Zack's girlfriend, and I know that this is crazy because it's the first thing I've ever said to you, but I don't suppose you want to wear my bridesmaid dress to the wedding?"  
"As in be a bridesmaid?" Ashley asked and Tatum nodded. "J? Is that okay?"  
"More than okay," he nodded and Tyler agreed.  
"Oh wow, thank you. I mean obviously you can have the dress I was going to wear, that's just wow, so kind, thank you,"  
"Do you want to go and try it on?" Tatum offered.  
"Yeah it's almost time to start getting ready!" Kelly said excitedly.  
"That would be lovely, thank you," Ashley nodded with a shy tuck of her long ginger hair.  
"We're all, well us girls at least, going to do hair and make up in my room, wanna come?" Maddy offered and Josh couldn't contain his grin at the friendship already forming between them.  
"Yeah that would be great thanks,"  
"Follow me," she said, standing up.

"You okay?" Josh whispered to Ashley as the girls picked up phones and jackets and said goodbye to the guys.  
"Yeah," she nodded with a smile and he believed her.

 

 

"Josh!" Tyler called from the bedroom as Josh was shaving off his stubble over the sink in the bathroom, towel around his waist and nothing more.  
"Yeh?"  
"Dad's here, don't come out naked,"  
"Okay I won't!" He called back with a small smile, then finished up and slapped Tyler's favourite aftershave on, then walked into the bedroom. With less than an hour to go, Tyler was sat on the end of their bed with a shirt and pants on but nothing else, whereas Chris was stood in his suit, pocket handkerchief folded perfectly and shoes polished.

"Way to make a guy feel underdressed," Josh joked as they turned to face him.  
"I said not naked babe,"  
"Hey I'm wearing a towel aren't I?"  
"And I'm very thankful," Chris laughed. "I'll give you some space to get dressed in a second, but first I have a gift for both of you from me,"  
"I'm a winner today," Josh grinned as he sat next to Tyler and Chris reached into his suit pocket and pulled out two boxes, giving them one each. They opened their hinged boxes at the same time and Josh felt his face light up again as he looked down at the pair of silver cuff links with his new initials J.W.D-J.

"Dad I love them," Tyler said, and Josh looked over and saw that Tyler had his own pair with T.R.D-J. inscribed.  
"Thank you Chris, these are awesome,"  
"Yeah thank you." Tyler agreed.  
"My father got me mine," Chris told them, showing his personalised cufflinks already in his shirt cuffs. "And I want you boys to give your son his on his wedding day. It's a Joseph family tradition, and today it becomes a Dun-Joseph family tradition."  
"Thank you Chris, I really appreciate this," Josh said, shaking his hand.  
"Love you Dad," Tyler said, hugging him.  
"Love you too, I'm really proud of you two boys, and I'll wait next door until you're dressed." He smiled then walked out, and it was one of the most emotional things that Josh had ever seen the stoic man do.

"Tyler I love your family." Josh suddenly decided to announce.  
"Josh I love our family too, ours." Tyler smiled then set the cufflinks aside and kissed him on the lips.

 

 

"Is my bow tie straight?" Tyler panicked as he paced the floor nervously.  
"About as straight as you. Come here," Josh beckoned his fiancé over, then helped him to sort out the knot. "Tyler look at me babe, calm down."  
"I'm about to get married, this is like the one time in my life when I'm actually supposed to be freaking out," he said in response, going back to pacing. "How are you not freaking out?"  
"Simple, like this," Josh kidded, gesturing to how he was laid across several chairs like a slob. "Do you love me?"  
"Yes."  
"Do I love you?"  
"Yes."  
"Is it all going to be fine?"  
"Yes,"  
"So there's nothing to freak out over,"  
"Get out of my face with your logic." Tyler said lightheartedly as he trod the floorboards over and over.  
"Do you want a glass of water?"  
"Ty, Josh, ready when you are," Maddy poked her head through the door.  
"2 seconds," Josh winked at her and she nodded and disappeared again. "Tyler babe, ready?" He asked and Tyler proceeded to jump up and down a dozen times.  
"Ready," he nodded, then held out his hand for Josh to take. Josh smiled at him then opened the door.

Maddy and Ashley were waiting for them outside the small stone cottage by the lake. Although old and traditional from the outside, inside it was brand new. The previous function of a home had been replaced by a modern open space that could host a wedding party of up to 100. However Tyler and Josh were simply using the room to get ready, and chose to have their ceremony in the woods next to the house.

The girls were both dressed in matching light blue gowns that flowed to their ankles, and both looked stunning. Josh would have complimented them, but he could hear soft music playing and knew that the time had come for them to walk down the wood trail aisle.

"Ready?" Maddy asked and they nodded, so both the girls began walking slowly through the entrance of the forest, bouquets in hand. Tyler and Josh followed a few metres behind, Tyler's grip tight. Although the sun hadn't set, it would do soon and the path was lined with candle lanterns, each flickering and glowing in the majestic forest.

"World's longest aisle," Josh whispered quietly as they continued down the winding trail, music gentle and melodic. Finally they turned and caught sign of the ceremony site, and Josh smiled as he saw they guests standing and smiling back at them. Continuing with the forest theme, the chairs were sculpted from tree trunks in a manor that was both authentic but also comfortable. The trees surrounding the clearing were all decorated with soft fairy lights, and Josh took a deep breath as he absorbed the pure beauty in its simplicity.

The ordained minister was stood directly opposite them, and Zack stood just to his side as best man. Their sisters peeled off to the left and stood beside Tatum (in Ashley's dress), and Kelly Chris and Jay were sat on the right. Kelly was already crying and wiped her tears with a tissue as they walked past, then finally stopped. The music softly faded out, and the guests sat.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Tyler Robert Joseph and Joshua William Dun in holy matrimony." The minister began. "But before we begin the proceedings, the couple have asked that we take a moment's silence to remember a much loved friend who couldn't be here today. Deborah Ann Ryan was chosen for another path in life, and has moved onto another stage in her journey. So please, bow your heads and think of her not in sadness, but with joy."

Tyler and Josh both looked down whilst still holding both hands, and Josh remembered his friend fondly. He didn't think of losing her, simply imagined how proud she would be of them. How proud she was, watching from the best seat in the house up above.

"Thank you," the minister called time. "Marriage is commended to be honourable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

Josh and Tyler both smiled at each other as they waited for the time to pass.  
"Phew!" Jay called out when it came to its conclusion and people laughed through their tears.  
"Okay good, now I believe the best man, Tyler's brother Zack, would like to start with a reading."  
"Thank you minister," Zack nodded as he pulled out a piece of card from inside his jacket. "Because Ty is a massive nerd, he asked me to read Sonnet 116 by William Shakespeare. Sonnets are the poems of love, however I believe if a man writes 116 sonnets then it's not in fact the partner he loves, instead perhaps it's sonnet writing. Therefore, brother knows best, this is Bob Marley's He's Not Perfect." He introduced it and got a chuckle from everyone.

"He’s not perfect. You aren’t either, and the two of you will never be perfect. But if he can make you laugh at least once, causes you to think twice, and if he admits to being human and making mistakes, hold onto him and give him the most you can."

"He isn’t going to quote poetry, he’s not thinking about you every moment, but he will give you a part of him that he knows you could break. Don’t hurt him, don’t change him, and don’t expect for more than he can give."

"Smile when he makes you happy, yell when he makes you mad, and miss him when he’s not there. Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you." Zack finished, folding the card and putting it away, then stepping back. Tyler nodded to him gratefully, and Josh smiled at Tyler yet again.

"Thank you Zack. Now please join us in prayer, repeat Lord graciously hear us after I say Lord, hear us. Please, bow your heads."

"Eternal God, creator and redeemer, from whom comes every good and perfect gift, fill Tyler and Josh with the riches of your grace and breathe into their marriage the strength of your holy and life-giving Spirit. Lord, hear us,"  
"Lord, graciously hear us."  
  
"Send upon them the gift of love that puts no limit to its faith and forbearance. Lord, hear us,"  
"Lord, graciously hear us."  
  
"Give them patience with their failures and persistence with their hopes. Lord, hear us."  
"Lord, graciously hear us."  
  
"In gentleness let them be tender with each other's dreams and healing of each other's wounds. Lord, hear us."  
"Lord, graciously hear us."  
  
"Gracious God, accept our prayers for Tyler and Josh, that as their love ripens and their marriage matures they may reap the harvest of the Spirit, rejoice in your gifts and reflect your glory in Christ Jesus our Lord."  
"Amen."

"This day - the day of Tyler and Josh's wedding - is about love. I recently spoke to Tyler about a novel he studied in high school, and one of his favourite quotes from said book was: 'if love is not all, then it is nothing: this principle, and its opposite, collide down all the years of my breathless tale.' Tyler and Josh, your breathless tale is about to begin. If love is not all, then it is nothing. Its opposite - if love is all, then it is everything - is going to be the basis for every aspect of your relationship."

"All you have to do is simply love one another and that love shows through in everything you do for one another, how you treat each other, in good times and bad. Love isn’t just a word; it’s an action. Love isn’t something you say, it’s something you do. Love is genuine, honest, and open, compassionate and kind, passionate and blind, love doesn’t know space or time, nor look through jealous eyes, and in the modified words of Paul in his letter to the Corinthians: Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never dies."

"There are many different kinds of love, almost if not all of which are represented here today. There is romantic love, the love of parents and children, of brothers and sisters, and love among friends."

"Not only do Josh and Tyler love one another romantically - and they do, you can see it in every look, every touch, every moment they’re together - they also love one another as friends. In fact, they’re best friends, constantly giggling and taunting and teasing and very plainly and obviously having fun together. That love and enjoyment of each other as best friends will sustain them through this marriage."

"In addition, the love collectively in this group, from friends and family, will help sustain and support the promises they make today. All of us here will help solidify this bond, as these two individuals are joined as husband and husband."

"This new journey will be at times richly rewarding and extremely difficult, but, most importantly, it will be a journey you take together. Marriage is much more than your signatures on a legal contract. You are promising, in front of all these people you love, that you want to be with each other and only each other for the rest of your lives, and that you will do everything in your power to honour the promises you are making here today."

As Josh listened to the words, he couldn't tear his eyes from Tyler's. This was happening, it was actually happening. After months of hospitalisation and grief and crappy crappy days that felt like they would never end, it was finally happening. They were getting married.  
He hadn't noticed he was crying until Tyler reached up and wiped a tear away with his thumb.

"Josh, are you ready to exchange vows with Tyler?"  
"Yeah," he nodded tearfully.  
"Repeat after me, I, Joshua William Dun,"  
"I, Joshua William Dun,"  
"Take you, Tyler Robert Joseph, to be my husband,"  
"Take you, Tyler Robert Joseph, to be my husband,"  
"To have and to hold from this day forward,"  
"To have and to hold from this day forward,"  
"For better or for worse,"  
"For better of for worse,"  
"For richer, for poorer,"  
"For richer, for poorer,"  
"In sickness and in health,"  
"In sickness and in health,"  
"To love and to cherish,"  
"To love and to cherish,"  
"From this day forward until death do us part."  
"From this day forward until death do us part."

"And Tyler, are you ready to exchange vows with Josh?"  
"Yes," he grinned proudly.  
"Repeat after me, I, Tyler Robert Joseph,"  
"I, Tyler Robert Joseph,"  
"Take you, Joshua William Dun, to be my husband,"  
"Take you, Joshua William Dun, to be my husband,"  
"To have and to hold from this day forward,"  
"To have and to hold from this day forward,"  
"For better or for worse,"  
"For better of for worse,"  
"For richer, for poorer,"  
"For richer, for poorer,"  
"In sickness and in health,"  
"In sickness and in health,"  
"To love and to cherish,"  
"To love and to cherish,"  
"From this day forward until death do us part."  
"From this day forward until death do us part."

"Tyler and Josh have also written their own vows which I now invite them to share." The minister told the guests.  
"Want me to go first?" Josh asked Tyler who nodded. "Tyler I love you unconditionally and without hesitation, I vow to love you, encourage you, trust you and respect you always. You inspire me every single day and I vow to never to stifle your creativity, never to hold you back, never to let you down. I vow to always be there when you need me, and stay by your side even when you don't. I've never been so sure of anything in my life as I am about making this commitment to you. No matter what the future holds, I vow to work through it with you together as a team without faltering. I vow to support and comfort you through life's ups and downs, regardless how low those lows may be. Likewise, I vow to share my hopes and dreams with you and build a home filled with compassion and understanding where we can raise a family together. I've never been so absolutely terrified and yet utterly excited about the future, and I can't wait to see what's next for us on this crazy adventure." Josh told him, tears running down both their faces.

"Thank you Josh. Tyler, do you have any vows you would like to make to Josh?" The minister asked.  
"Yes," he nodded tearfully, but didn't begin.  
"It's okay, you can do it," Josh whispered quietly, and Tyler nodded and took a deep breath.

"I, I love you Josh, plain and simple, I love you," Tyler began softly, but built up courage as he spoke. "What can I say that I haven’t already said? What can I provide you that I haven’t already given? My body, my mind, my soul and my heart. They’re all yours. Everything that I have and everything that I am, belonged to you long before today. And I promise that it shall all be yours forever. I will be yours forever. I will follow you anywhere you go and anywhere you lead me to. Hand in hand. Heart in heart." He said, and Josh squeezed his hands supportively with damp cheeks.

"You have helped me triumph over every challenge presented, encouraged my personal growth and boosted my self-esteem. In fact before you I didn't have any self-esteem at all, and it's thanks to you that I'm able to hold my chin high and stand up here in front of people. You have helped me become the person I am today. And with your help, I will be a better person tomorrow than I was yesterday."

"Love is something that terrifies me because it's trusting someone with your heart and knowing they could break you at any moment, and yet here I am. And that's because I trust you Josh, I trust you more than I've ever trusted anyone including myself. You took a very broken boy and made him into a very happy man. And so today, our wedding day, I vow that I'll stay alive. I vow that no matter what happens in the times to come, no matter what crazy path this life together will lead us, that I will stay alive Josh. For you, for myself, and for our future." Tyler told Josh and there was no holding back the stream of tears rushing down his cheeks.

"As a symbol of this marriage, Tyler and Josh have chosen to exchange rings. Can the best man please give Josh Tyler's ring." The minister said, and Josh finally let go of Tyler's hands and turned slightly to face his nearly brother in law. Zack was crying but smiled at Josh as he placed the black band in his palm.

"Josh, place the ring on Tyler's finger and repeat after me, I Josh,"  
"I Josh,"  
"Give you, Tyler, this ring,"  
"Give you, Tyler, this ring,"  
"As an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you,"  
"As an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," Josh smiled as he pushed the band over husband's knuckle.

"And Zack, please give Tyler Josh's ring," the minister instructed and Zack obeyed with a smiled. "Tyler, place the ring on Josh's finger and repeat after me, I Tyler,"  
"I Tyler,"  
"Give you, Josh, this ring,"  
"Give you, Josh, this ring,"  
"As an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you,"  
"As an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you,"  
"It fits!" Josh exclaimed both joyfully and tearfully, and their family chuckled.

"May your marriage bring you all the exquisite excitements a marriage should bring, and may life grant you also patience, tolerance, and understanding. May you always need one another - not so much to fill your emptiness as to help you to know your fullness. May you need one another, but not out of weakness. May you want one another, but not out of lack. May you have happiness, and may you find it making one another happy. May you have love, and may you find it loving one another."

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's my great honour, by the power invested in me by the State of New York, to now pronounce you husband and husband. You may now kiss your husband," the minister said and Josh immediately pulled Tyler against his lips passionately as their family stood and clapped.  
"We did it," Tyler cried, their foreheads connected.  
"We did it."

 

  
After the ceremony the photographer proceeded to conduct a photoshoot with the whole family, then dismissed them and focused on Josh and Tyler. They finally finished up and took a casual walk, having to stop and kiss far too often, back to where the group were.

The sun had set so the outdoor table was lit by lanterns surrounding the decking and a lamp in the centre of the circle table. Everyone was seated and laughing when the boys finally arrived and settled into their seats. They obviously sat next to each other, and Chris sat beside Tyler whereas Kelly sat next to Josh.

Josh took a moment to smile round at the table full of his closest friends and now family members. Part of him was convinced he was dreaming because nothing had ever felt as perfect as it did right in that moment.

Everyone had a glass of champagne in front of them except Tyler, who had a champagne flute filled with Red Bull much to his amusement. Chris stood up and held his by the stem.

"Father of the bride usually makes the first speech of the night, but as the only father at a brideless wedding, I suppose I'll have to do." He began and Josh held Tyler's hand on the tablecloth as they listened. "Firstly I want to start out by saying how proud I am of you both. I know that weddings are a lot of pressure and stress, and I know that Tyler you were having anxiety about getting up there and speaking your heart, but you did a fabulous job and brought a tear to my eye, well done son. And Josh, cool as a cucumber, you did splendidly as ever."

"Although I am extremely proud of you for the wedding today, I'm also extremely proud that you made it this far kid." Chris spoke directly to Tyler. "We don't shy away from the truth in this family, and the truth is that for a long time I couldn't imagine you leaving hospital, let alone getting reunited and married to the fine chap next to you. To think that 5 years ago you were living on Cygnet and refusing treatment, then compare that to the smiling young man in front of me, you're barely recognisable Ty. And you know the main difference? Josh is the main difference. Josh there are no words that can even begin to describe how you've transformed our son, and therefore our whole family in the process. Moving Tyler to your high school was a last resort ploy by two concerned and increasingly desperate parents, and our prayers were answered when you two met. Did things work out how we had pictured? No not in the slightest. Am I happy with how they did? Yes of course."

"You two have crammed a lifetime's worth of high and lows into a 6 year relationship, and it's been scary at times but mostly an absolute honour to watch and to play a small part in. Along the ride you've lost dear friends, lost time together, lost time at home, perhaps lost sight of that light at the end of the tunnel - however you're gained memories that you'll cherish for the rest of your lives, gained an understanding of each other on a whole new level, gained a whole new appreciation for the days that are neither good nor bad, and most importantly you've gained a best friend and a life partner."

"I have no doubt in my mind that the future will hold challenges, but I also know with absolute certainty that you two are far stronger than you give yourselves credit for and that together you can overcome anything. So please, raise your glasses, to Josh and Tyler,"  
"Josh and Tyler," they all repeated as they toasted them.

Josh smiled across at Tyler, his husband's grin illuminated by the glow of the lamp. He was happy, Josh could tell he was happy and that was the most important thing. He raised his hand and put it on Tyler's neck fondly, then pressed a kiss to his temple.

"Okay my turn," Tyler said, standing up but still holding Josh's hand. "Firstly thank you for that Dad, and thank you to all of you for making the journey out here, I know it's quite a trek but we would never want to do this without you here. I actually have a lot to thank you all for."

"Mom, Dad, thanks for shelling out and paying for this all, but more importantly thank you for never giving up on me. I know I dragged you to Hell and back and I'm so grateful that you've never once held it against me. You're honestly the most supportive and caring parents I could ever ask for, and I couldn't have done this without you. Whether it was visiting me every single day without fail for 14 months in Cygnet, or saving me when I attempted to make Josh a surprise dinner and ended up almost setting the house on fire by forgetting to put any water in the pan when boiling potatoes, you've always been there for me. I love you both dearly, thank you," Tyler told his parents, Chris smiling and Kelly crying.

"Jay, thank you for being so patient and understanding, and never resenting me. I know me getting sick meant that Mom and Dad had to focus a lot of their attention on me and that must have been difficult, however in spite of that you've grown into a very talented and very funny young man. You're gonna make a great basketball captain one day." He told his brother, who waved away the compliment.

"Maddy, my beautiful sister, the same thanks go to you. You never rush me or pressure me and always treat me with respect and kindness, so thank you. Thank you for our fortnightly movie nights. It's a tradition you proposed a couple of days after I came home from hospital and for the first few weeks it mostly consisted of tears and panic rather than watching movies, but it soon progressed into a massive motivation and something I genuinely enjoyed and still do to this day. What may just be a movie to you has actually been a lifeline for me and I hope we continue to do it forever. Thank you."

"Ashley, thank you for coming today, it means the absolute world to me and my husband," Tyler told Josh's sister, grinning down to him. Josh let go of his hand and instead wrapped it around his husband's waist and pulled him close, resting his head against Tyler's ribs. Tyler placed his hand on Josh's far shoulder and hugged him back before continuing his speech to Ashley.

"For many people here, this is the first time they've met you. I was lucky enough to see you all the time when we were in high school and Josh and I used to go to your house and pretend to study but actually play stupid games like 21 truths or would you rather - sorry Mom. And of course a lot has changed since then, but can I just say thank you from the bottom of my heart for staying in touch with Josh. Honestly, thank you so much. I understand how absolutely terrifying it is for you to keep this relationship hidden from your family, but I think not having the support of Josh's family has been one of the hardest things for us," Tyler said and Josh nodded, although not feeling too down as Tyler squeezed him tight. "And knowing that Josh still has one truly amazing ally has softened the blow a bit. Whenever he talks about you or you send him an email or if you manage to somehow meet up, he's always glowing. You make him so so happy and in turn make me happy too. Thank you Ashley, and please trust me when I say that we're looking after him."

"Tatum, you came into our lives at a very difficult time and yet held absolutely no judgements. I know that the year leading up to me going into hospital and then my hospitalisation impacted everyone, but I also know that Zack took it especially hard. I don't know if I'll ever be able to express my true gratitude to you for coming along and taking him from such a low place to such a high one. He's my brother and you make him happy, and that's all I've ever wanted for him, so thank you. Also your apple pies are amazing."

"Wow, could you imagine if I did this at a wedding with like 200 people," Tyler laughed as he stopped and took a mouthful from the pint of water he also had. "K, Zack, you're an idiot, next, Mom."

"Nah I kid of course Zack, you're my brother and my best man and my best friend and I don't know what I'd do without you. Genuinely don't have a clue. You've saved my life on countless occasions and made the better times of my life even better. Every step of the way you've been by my side giving me the best advice I could ask for, telling me that what I was seeing wasn't real, telling me that I should get back with Josh, telling me that my fly was down. I said it to Tatum and it's still true, I know you took things hard when I wasn't well and all I can say is thank you for looking after me even when I screamed at you for it. You've always known what's best for me and I trust you and your opinion entirely. When I came out of hospital it was you who actually encouraged me to try and spend time with Josh and I can be pretty damn certain it's because of you that we're here today, Mr and Mr Dun-Joseph. Thank you. And also thank you for not letting your crush on Josh interfere with our wedding."  
"One day our time will come baby," Zack winked at Josh.

"Mom, I uh, I know I already did one for you and Dad but oh well, you're getting another." He smiled at her as she wiped away tears with a laugh at herself.  
"Thank you baby,"  
"I haven't started yet! Mom, I think Dad would agree that you looked after me the most when Josh was away and I know you always dismiss it as a mother's duty, but you went above and beyond. I said and did some things that no mother should ever have to hear or see her son do, and I'm so sorry. But you never gave up on me no matter how much I pushed you, and now look at me. Married to the love of my life, excited for the future, happy. Thank you,"  
"Oh baby come here," she cried and Josh let go of him so that he could walk around and hug his mom tight. After an emotional few seconds, Tyler walked back to his space and Kelly leant across and squeezed Josh too.

"And of course Josh, my husband at last," Tyler said, kissing him on the lips before standing back up straight. "We've spent a lot of time today talking about the times I was sick, but that's not important. What's important is the amazing years you've given me since then and the amazing years I know we have coming up too. Josh I love every single thing about you. I love how you can make me smile no matter what, and how you can always see the silver lining, and I love that you always believe in me. I love how I love myself when I'm with you, and I love your goofy little grin. I love that you bring the best out of me and I love how you're literally best friends with my mom. I love how much you love cats and X files. I love that you still believe that aliens are real-"  
"They are," Josh interrupted tearfully with a laugh.  
"Babe," Tyler chuckled, wiping away Josh's tears with his thumb.

"I love that I can't cook and you're always offering to teach me and I still can't cook, mostly because I'm too busy focusing on your back rather than your words because you never wear a shirt when you're chef. I also love that you never wear a shirt when you're chef. I love it all, and I'm so unbelievably overwhelmed at knowing that I'm going to have it all till the day we die."  
"I love you too," Josh said and Tyler pushed his lips against Josh's.

After they finished making out, Josh saw that the waiting staff were ready to serve their dinner. He nodded at a waitress, remembering her name was Jessica, and she spoke to a man that Josh didn't know and walked down the decking to the stone cottage about 50 metres away. They returned with a serving trolley stacked with plates and a big dish hidden under a silver cloche.

The man apologetically reached between Chris and Jay and picked up the lamp from the middle of the table. The light consequently dimmed a bit, but the waiter proceeded to light several tea light candles in glass dishes and place them on the table. Meanwhile Jessica placed plates in between the cutlery already in front of the group. Finally she picked up the large dish and placed it in the middle of the table.

"Can I?" Tyler asked her eagerly just before she lifted the cover.  
"Yeah of course," she nodded, stepping back and allowing him to put his hand on the handle.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, after hours and hours of deliberation, Josh and I picked this great meal to symbolise everything that is important to us in this world-"  
"Odds on it being tacos?" Jay laughed.  
"Shush, did I say I was finished?!" Tyler snapped at him playfully. "I like to think that this meal is equal to Josh in my heart, and both are equally as perfect. Just like Josh, this meal has never let me down. Just like Josh, if I'm having a bad day then this meal can always make me feel better,"  
"Yeah it's tacos," Zack agreed with his brother.

"Mom your devil sons keep interrupting your favourite child," Tyler sulked.  
"If it's not tacos then I'll punish them baby," she smirked, blowing him a kiss.  
"Don't worry you're safe." Josh grinned at the two boys.  
"You guys just hate fun don't you?!" Tyler groaned. "Yeah it's TacoBell." He said, lifting the cloche to reveal 5 12 packs of the shells and everyone laughed.

"Oh my god, 60 tacos guys?!" Maddy exclaimed.  
"Yep, and you're not allowed to leave the table till they're all gone." Tyler grinned as he sat back down next to Josh and cuddled himself against his chest.  
"We're going to die." Tatum murmured and everyone laughed.  
"Don't worry babe, I got this," Zack announced, standing up and opening the first box.

 

  
A lot of groaning and moaning later, all the tacos were gone and the cake cut and half eaten. The group had migrated from the table on the decking and down to a patch of grass equidistant from the huge lake and the huge forest. A roaring bonfire had burnt down to a crackling and glowing fire, Zack taking it upon himself to add another few logs every now and then. Everyone was sat on large sections of tree trunks positioned in a circle around the fire which were softened with blankets, and many had blankets wrapped around their shoulders too. Josh and Tyler were sharing a seat and a blanket, and Josh sipped a Red Bull whereas Tyler had a hot chocolate.

"I remember when Josh was like 8 or 9 maybe and he got the chickenpox and he wouldn't stop scratching so Mom put her oven mitts on his hands and then duck taped them round his wrists," Ashley laughed before taking another sip of her beer.  
"I was walking around and acting like some sort of bear, scratching against door frames and all sorts," Josh remembered fondly with a chuckle. "But Ash do you remember what you did to that bauble at Christmas?"  
"Oh my gosh yeah, I was 4 and we had these red glass baubles on our Christmas tree. For whatever reason I became convinced that they were apples and I bit into one, cuts all in my mouth, blood everywhere. Josh thought it was absolutely hilarious,"  
"I mean it was pretty funny," he laughed.  
"I needed stitches!"  
"Josh!" Maddy exclaimed.  
"We uh, for like the next 5 years we only decorated the top half of the tree in case Ashley got the munchies again."  
"Oh darling I'm sorry, but that is quite funny," Kelly said to Josh's little sister whilst laughing.

"Tyler tried to throw the Christmas tree out of the window once," Zack remembered. "I mean he was 10 and weedy as fuck so he barely rocked it, but credit to him he was determined."  
"I stand by it, trees do not belong indoors." Tyler smiled.  
"Yeah but that was an OCD thing, Ashley's just an idiot." Josh smiled at her lightheartedly whilst hugging Ty.  
"Child Joshua, she was a child. You probably ought to know what they are considering you two are gonna be baby daddies soon." Tatum chimed in.  
"Our child is gonna be a prodigy and if they try and eat tree decorations then I'm returning them to the orphanage as defected and getting an upgraded model."  
"Josh our imperfections are what make us who we are," Tyler smiled at him. "But yeah if they're ugly or dumb then don't go getting too attached." He informed the family.  
"How exactly did you two qualify to be parents??" Zack asked.  
"I'm a lawyer, persuasion is part of the job my friend," Josh chuckled before sipping his Red Bull.

"Do you think the trees are upset? Because, like, we're right next to them and we're burning one of them, like what if its parents are there and we're torturing their child for warmth," Jay said, staring into the fire.  
"What the fuck Jay..." Zack looked at him in confusion.  
"Alright that's enough beer for you," Kelly decided, standing up and taking the bottle from his grip and passing it to Chris on the way back to her log.

"Think you need one of my pills," Tyler smiled.  
"Baby do you need some of your pills? What time do you usually take night meds now?" His mom asked him.  
"About 9.30ish, what time is it?"  
"Almost 10," Josh answered, reading the time off his new Rolex. "But I guessed we might be this side of the lake for a while so they're in the bag in the cottage, want me to go get them?"  
"I can go," Tyler offered.  
"Nah it's fine, I know exactly where they are, it's probably easiest." Josh decided, standing up.  
"Don't be gone too long,"  
"I'll be super speedy, blink and you'll miss it." He grinned, kissing Tyler on the lips.  
"Be a lamb and grab a couple more beers?" Zack asked.  
"Yep. Anyone else want anything from the house? Anymore drinks?"  
"Nah," everyone replied, so Josh rubbed Tyler's shoulder then wandered away from the fire and towards the house in the distance.

As he walked away from the fire, he could hear his family laughing over something. Family. They'd been like family since he moved in 6 years ago, but now it was legal and official and Josh couldn't be happier. He had thought "like family", but they were nothing like his birth family, the family that he was so convinced was how every other family lived. He never realised there were actual families where parents would listen to their children rather than sending them to confession, grandparents who baked cookies with their grandkids rather than did Bible studies, and family gatherings that were for reasons other than demon expulsions.

The group of people growing further and further into the distance were kind to Josh, and more importantly to him they were kind to Tyler. He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened to Tyler if he had been born a Dun. Saying Tyler had demons would be taken literally with his family.

But no, they had no hold over him anymore. Josh was loved and protected and safe, and now he was married.

"Oh hi Josh, everything alright?" Jessica asked as he entered the building.  
"Absolutely perfect thank you," he replied honestly. "Just need to grab something from my bag in the other room, but in the mean time do you mind getting us a couple of beers?"  
"Course, which?"  
"Pfff, I know nothing about beer."  
"You were drinking Bud Light last round, how many can I getcha?"  
"You got a 6 pack handy?"  
"I'll check the stock fridge but I'm fairly certain, one sec," then she disappeared. Josh took the opportunity to nip into the back room and find the packs of pills that Tyler needed, popping out his dose and sliding them into his pocket. One of the pills was sleeping medication and Josh presumed that they wouldn't be too much sleeping occurring between them that night, but didn't want Tyler to feel pressured and included it so he could make up his own decision on whether to take it.

When Josh walked back to the bar, Jessica was waiting with the beers.  
"Thank you,"  
"Not a problem, want me to carry them down?"  
"Sure I can manage thanks." Josh smiled.  
"Does your new hubby want another hot chocolate?"  
"Actually could you get him some water please?" He asked, guessing Tyler would find the large pills easier to swallow.

"Can I ask a question about him?" She asked as she got a glass and began filling it.  
"Course."  
"Why doesn't he drink?"  
"He takes some pretty hefty medication so he can't, plus he's had some issues with alcohol in the past and yeah, he's happy with his hot chocolate." Josh answered, sitting at a bar stool.  
"And the scars above his collar on his neck?"  
"You saw them hey?"  
"Pretty hard to miss. Did he do that?"  
"Would you have a problem if he did?"  
"Concern, but no issue no, everyone has problems of some sort." Jessica told him, putting the glass of water in front of him on the bar.  
"Yeah he did,"  
"He's in a better place mentally now though yeah?"  
"Yeah,"  
"I've known you guys like 5 minutes and even I can tell that you adore each other and make each other very happy."  
"We do, thank you,"  
"I'll let you get back to your darling then, and I'll grab the door for you." She smiled then walked from round the bar and opened the door so that he could walk through, beers in one hand and water in the other.

The walk back was more focused on not spilling the water as he travelled over the uneven field opposed to the neglectful family he had grown up in. A buzz of joyful noise hummed over the cracks of the burning fire and Josh couldn't help but smile when Tyler turned and looked at him. He walked the final few steps and handed Tyler the glass and then all the pills that were rattling around in his pocket. Josh also handed Zack the beers, and noticed his brother in law was stood up in front of Ty rather than sitting.

"What's going on?" Josh asked as he sat next to Ty who was gulping down the required medication.  
"Since Ty decided to steal the limelight on my special day, I never got round to making my best man speech. Didn't want it to go to unheard so I'm gonna bless you all with it now." Zack informed him.  
"Ah right, well thanks I think?"  
"Babe, we're not gonna be needing this," Tyler whispered then slid the sleeping pill in Josh's breast pocket. "Sorry Lord master Zackary, the floor is all yours," Tyler grinned at his scowling brother. Zack reached inside his blazer pocket and pulled out a cue card and began to read it.

"Josh, you are so sexy and gorgeous- oh dammit, this is the wrong speech," Zack laughed, then threw the card on the fire. "I don't need any notes, let's just talk from the heart. When you think of a best man speech, they're supposed to be funny and embarrassing and humiliating basically, but I decided that it wasn't really the style I wanted to go for. I think that's because there's nothing funny or embarrassing or humiliating about your relationship. I mean yeah sure, Tyler's hair is humiliating and an embarrassment, but the relationship isn't, because at the end of the day it saved both your lives."

"Tyler, we've been at each other's throats for as long as I can remember. When we were little you were always the goody goody two shoes who liked cleaning up our room and I was the hardcore gangster who liked knocking everything down. And of course obviously that was cruel on reflection, me provoking your childhood OCD, but that wasn't what it was like to me at the time. To me, you enjoyed it, you liked sorting things. So really I thought I was doing you a favour, giving you more things to tidy up. And of course some nights it was too much and we resulted to settling our differences through wrestling and tears, but I do have fond memories of sitting under my bed and you teaching me your version of rainbow order for the colouring pens we had."

"I think that was a bit of a theme as we grew up, me wanting to help you but not always knowing how. Whether that was with the sorting when we were little, or when we were older and started going to high school. I knew you hated it, I walked down the halls and I saw you hiding your face under a hoodie and shying away from anyone walking in the opposite direction. I heard the whispers about you, the way people pretended you didn't exist and how you'd always sit alone at lunch. I wanted to help but at the same time I sort of convinced myself that you needed some space. All the singing and screaming in the basement, I dunno, guess it was easier to presume that that was your way of dealing with things rather than me taking responsibility for being a pretty crappy brother."

"When Mom told me that we were moving, I was pretty damn angry to be honest. I had friends there, I was making progress there, I was happy there. But you weren't, and it was selfish of me to keep you in a school that was so detrimental to your mental health. So after a week of being pretty pissed, I understood why Mom and Dad were doing what they were doing and I helped to find a new house and a new school and a new life for us basically."

"If you were anxious at the old school, then the new one was a whole other level. Point blank refusing to leave the house, refusing to meet the principal, refusing to go to school on the first day. But Mom had a little word with me and made me promise to look after you on your first day, and somehow I managed to convince you to leave the house without having a panic attack. Basically what I'm saying is that this whole marriage is down to me."

"When I first met Josh, first thought was hot, second thought was crazy hot, third thought was crazy crazy hot-"  
"Zack, we get it, he's hot," Jay heckled and Josh smiled.  
"But honestly? First thought when I met Josh? Thank fuck. This brother of mine has finally found a friend who wasn't using him for English homework or to make the basketball team, he had a friend who was genuinely just a nice guy. I mean yeah, he was straight, but I knew Tyler was too much of an anxious mess for a relationship and I was more than satisfied for Joshie-boy to be his bud."

"I think Josh had been round a couple of times and Ty had been round to his too, but it was still pretty early on in their friendship. I can remember sitting on the roof doing something on my laptop and looking down at the basketball court and Ty and Josh were just messing about. Tyler was showing off, Josh was foaming at the mouth over it and worshipping the ground he walked on, and Tyler was laughing. He was laughing and smiling and confident enough to pull off some pretty amazing shots, and that was sort of the clicking point for me when I realised that Josh actually made him happy."

"After that, Ty's problems became normal teenager problems. We'd lie on his bed and he'd ramble on and on and on about how Josh had smiled at him for a second longer than conventional that day, or how they'd accidentally brushed hands and Tyler swore he'd never wash again. Basically my big bro had a huge stinking crush on a straight boy."

"Now at this point Josh and Debby, peace be upon her, were pretty much inseparable. So of course, when Dun came round, so did Ryan. Whilst the boys were messing about, I spent a lot of time with Debby, we actually became really close thanks to you two. To begin with we would just talk about the old school, about how we liked the area, what we liked and didn't like in general, but eventually it progressed into more deep conversations. She began telling me a lot about her childhood and then it turned to Josh's childhood."

"I remember the first thing Debby said to me about Josh's family: make sure Tyler doesn't come out to them. I didn't take it too seriously, and I didn't mention it to Ty because I presumed Josh would have done. But we talked about it, Debby explained that Josh's family were completely built around faith. At first I liked that, same as us, a good Christian boy for my good Christian brother. However it soon became apparent by what she was saying that they took it to the next level of extreme, and that frightened me honestly. I asked her what exactly that meant for Josh, and she told me about punishments that, well, let's just say are not appropriate to be talked about at a wedding, let alone to be done to a child."

"After that I saw Josh in a different light. At dinner I picked up on the bible verses he would casually drop into conversation, and I became conscious of how often he would say he had to leave for home otherwise he'd get in trouble. This wasn't trouble like Mom's punishment of no huggies for a day, this was serious shit. I didn't really know what to do with the information, I mean it wasn't abuse worthy of reporting (although it was pretty damn close), and Debby had always reassured me that he was happy, but it was weird knowing this whole other side of Josh that maybe even Tyler didn't know at the time."

"Everyone knows this story, they fell in love, but I just want to say that it wasn't only Tyler who overcame a lot through this relationship. Ty you've battled things that no human being should ever have to go through and I'm beyond proud of you for getting to this stage, and I like to think you know that we're all proud of you. However Josh, your triumphs over your own issues are just as impressive and I think you need to know that we're proud of you too. Internalised homophobia, a violently homophobic family, balancing loving two people at once, losing your best friend, being able to come back from Indonesia and face us, dealing with Ty's illness before during and after hospital, and all whilst still functioning like a normal human being." Zack smiled at Josh and Ty squeezed him tight.

"I mean you're a fancy pants lawyer and you're successful and you're happy and you are so so loved. Please don't ever think for a moment that we're not all in awe of you. If your kid grows up to be half the man you are then the world will be a better place because of it."  
"Amen," Chris agreed.  
"It's not just Ty's world you've changed, it's all of ours and we love you for it. Knowing that you two are safe in each other's arms is honestly what let's me sleep at night. You're two imperfect men who together have overcome life's biggest hurdles and formed the perfect relationship, and I wish you all the happiness in the world."  
"Cheers," Tatum smiled, and everyone raised their glasses.

Josh nodded to Zack who nodded back, and, although a simple action, it conveyed a lot of respect that they both felt for each other. Tyler brought Josh's attention back to him as he snuggled against his chest and Josh placed his chin on top of his husband's head.  
"He's right," Tyler murmured quietly and Josh kissed his crown.

"Actually, um, I, I think I'd like to say something," Ashley said anxiously, standing up.  
"Sure?" Josh asked softly.  
"Yeah," she nodded, pulling at the sleeves of Jay's hoodie he had given her to wear over her bridesmaid dress.  
"Take your time darling," Kelly told her reassuringly and she nodded and swallowed, taking a shaky breath. She made brief eye contact with Josh who just smiled supportively.

"I um, I almost didn't come today, but I'm so glad that I did because it's just confirmed everything that Josh has told me about you guys." Ashley began nervously. "Every time I speak to Josh, which is nowhere near as much as I'd like, he always tells me that you're amazing. Part of me sort of presumed that he was just saying that because you're the in-laws and he sorta had to, but from the moment I was introduced I realised that he was being genuine."

"The environment that, uh, that we grew up in was nothing like this. Talking openly about mental health was unheard of, we were taught mental illness was a behavioural choice and a sin. So to be able to stand up here, knowing that I'm not the only person who has panic attacks and that you're not judging me for it, it's such a refreshing change and frankly a relief."

"I miss Josh every single day, and I worry myself half to death at times. But today has shown me that I have no need to be worried because you guys, you're looking after him. Thank you. You took him in and cared for him and I honestly don't know what we'd have done without you."

"Being at home and seeing Josh's room be turned into an office and the photos of him being taken down from the walls and him getting folded out of group portraits, it's tough. But knowing that he's happy here will definitely soften the blow next time Mom says she has 3 children."

"Josh you always have been and always will be my big brother. I know I could probably push myself to be a bit braver and see you more, but you know what our parents are like. I'm sorry I can't be a courageous as you, but please trust me when I say that you inspire me and I dream that one day I'll be able to move on from them too. And hopefully I'll be half as happy as you and Ty are."

"Ty thank you so much for loving my brother. He deserves the whole world and you give him that, so thank you. I've had the most amazing day and that's because I got to watch his dream come true. I love you both,"  
"I love you too Ash, so so much," Josh told her, standing up and pulling her into a hug. "And I'm so proud of you for speaking, thank you so much,"  
"Congratulations J," she smiled tearfully, thumbing his cheek then sitting back down.

Josh walked back to his seat beside Tyler too, and he didn't realise that a tear has escaped until Tyler reached up and wiped it away for him. After that the husbands made themselves comfy again in each other's embrace - which wasn't particularly difficult considering they always fit together perfectly. Tyler looked up at Josh, his eyes dancing with the reflection of the fire.  
"Okay darling?" Josh asked.  
"Never better," Tyler answered honestly.

"Mom why don't you do a speech? We all know that Ty's your favourite child." Zack heckled playfully and she smiled before eventually putting down her glass of white wine and standing up from the log to take her place on the impromptu stage that had formed in front of the crackling flames.

"I haven't cried enough as it is today, so let's see how many more tears we can get," Kelly laughed tearfully, wiping her eyes already. "My two boys, married at last. And you are both my boys, even before today. Josh you are my son the same way Ty and Jay and Zack are, and you will always always be a part of this family and hold a very special place in my heart."

"Ty, my first born, my baby, I am so unbelievably off the chart proud of you. I know a lot of people have said it today, but never did I imagine you getting to this point. I knew right from when you were a little boy that you were sick, or at least that there was something not quite normal. As Zack said, you used to tidy and clean all the time, and your favourite day of the week was the day I vacuumed because it sucked up all the badness. You could never explain why you liked scouring the tiles whilst Zacky preferred to play with his cars, just smiled and scrubbed. You were a happy little boy if we let you do your cleaning and your sorting and your praying, and you were a crying stroppy mess if we didn't. At least at that age we knew what made things better for you."

"When you were a young teen I loved you so so much Tyler, but you didn't want any of it. You shrugged me off when I hugged you and walked away when I told you I loved you, and you withdrew from family life a lot. I was scared honestly Ty, I thought you'd outgrown your Momma and didn't want me around anymore. And I think that was one of the reasons we decided to send you to high school rather than carry on home schooling. Give you some freedom and some space."

"I'm your Mom and you're my baby and I always worry about you - I worry about all my kids," she said, wiping her tears as she turned to smile at her other three children. "And I think you can probably remember how much I worried about you in school. I was absolutely convinced that you were getting bullied, but I never ever contemplated the idea that it might actually be your own mind that was bullying you."

"I can still remember all the first times, the first time you broke down to Dad, the first time you broke down to me, the first time I saw you having a panic attack, the first time I saw you head banging, the first time I walked in on you harming, the first time you told me it was too much and you couldn't do it anymore. They broke my heart the first time and every single time since." Kelly told him and she wiped her face again. Tyler sat up from leaning against Josh's chest but instead wrapped himself around Josh's bicep.

"Baby when we moved you and you met Josh, initially I was so so nervous and protective because I didn't want you to get hurt. You were really vulnerable and, even though we moved so you could make friends, I was scared about people taking advantage of you. I don't know whether Josh ever told you this, but one time before you started dating he came round to walk you to school and you had overslept so I took him aside privately, you remember Josh?"  
"Yeah," he nodded.  
"I told him that you weren't like the other kids and he needed to be careful with you, but before I could get any further he stopped me and held both my hands. He looked me straight in the eye and said: Kelly I know. I know about what he's going through and I promise I will never hurt him. I'm going to do everything to help him get better because he's my best friend and I care about him. And Kelly, I know it's not enough and we're working on it but he's 4 days clean."

"Immediately of course I burst into tears and hugged him tighter that I ever thought humanly possible, because that was when I realised that my Ty finally had something good in his life. And look at you now ay? Josh is still in your life and he's still a burning ball of good."

"I don't even think I should get started on hospital because I'll cry even more," she sighed, running her fingers under her eyes again. "But when you came home you were different, of course you were, and I loved you just as much. You were scared of everything baby, the microwave, the squeaky bathroom door, the movement-sensor lights outside. And that meant that I was giving out a lot of hugs - which is a passion of mine - but also meant you needed lots of reassurance and nobody can reassure you better than Josh."

"Of course you were making slow progress with trusting yourself and me overtime, but as soon as you decided you were ready for Josh to sit in silently on our movie sessions, the improvements were astonishing, truly astonishing. Because that's the affect you have on my boy Josh, you make him happy no matter what."

"When we discharged you, they sent you home with this 4 inch thick binder which included every mental health resource you could possibly ever imagine, and that included a targets sheet they had printed for you. There were set things that I should try and recognise in your behaviour which would tell me when you were doing better, but the thing that stuck out for me wasn't on the list. I can remember very clearly, you'd been home for 3 months and I walked into the kitchen and you were making cookies by yourself and under your breath you were singing You've Got A Friend In Me from Toy Story. Of course me being me, I burst straight into tears because you were singing again Ty. You'd watched Toy Story in silence with Josh a few days ago and you were baking and singing as though you didn't have a care in the world. It was honestly one of the best moments of my life."

"But baby, it wasn't the best moment, today was the best moment. Watching you two up there, all suited up and dovey eyed for each other. You love one another and that is the only important thing. Honestly I have no idea how you two found each other in this crazy world but I'm so glad you did because you're so damn good together and I'm beyond proud. It hasn't been easy getting to this point, but it's been worth it."

"I love you Mom," Tyler said, standing up and wrapping his arms around the shorter woman. Josh let them embrace for a long minute before standing up and waiting for his turn. His husband eventually stepped back and Josh filled his place.  
"I love you as well Mommy Kelly," he hummed into her hair as they hugged.  
"I love you darling, thank you for saving my boy," she whispered tearfully as they let go.

 


End file.
